Christian County, Missouri
Christian County is a county located in Southwest Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the population was 77,422. This is a 42.6% increase from 2000, making it the fastest growing county in Missouri and one of the fastest growing in the nation as the county becomes more suburban due to the booming growth in Springfield. Its county seat is Ozark . The county was organized in 1859 and is named after William Christian, a Kentucky soldier of the American Revolutionary War. Christian County is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 99.84%) is land and (or 0.16%) is water. Adjacent counties *Greene County (north) *Webster County (northeast) *Douglas County (east) *Taney County (south) *Stone County (southwest) *Lawrence County (west) Major highways * U.S. Route 60 * U.S. Route 65 * U.S. Route 160 * Route 13 * Route 14 * Route 125 National protected area *Mark Twain National Forest (part) Demographics 2012 Estimate }} As of the census of 2000, there were 54,285 people, 20,425 households, and 15,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 96 people per square mile (37/km²). There were 21,827 housing units at an average density of 39 per square mile (15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.31% White, 0.27% Black or African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.42% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. Approximately 1.32% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.7% were of American, 21.1% German, 12.3% English and 11.3% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 20,425 households out of which 38.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.00% were married couples living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.40% were non-families. 19.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.00. In the county the population was spread out with 27.80% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 31.70% from 25 to 44, 21.80% from 45 to 64, and 10.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $50,200, and the median income for a family was $58,806. Males had a median income of $31,929 versus $21,852 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,873. About 7.10% of families and 9.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.20% of those under age 18 and 7.80% of those age 65 or over. Cities and towns Politics Local The Republican Party predominantly controls politics at the local level in Christian County. Republicans hold all but one of the elected positions in the county: Democrat David Stokely was appointed by Governor Jay Nixon to the position of assessor following Republican Sandra Bryant-Littles' removal from office by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster due to criminal charges relating to her position as assessor. State Christian County is divided into two legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives, both of which are represented by Republicans. *District 141 - Rep. Kevin Elmer (R-Nixa). In 2008, Wasson defeated Democratic challenger Ron Shawgo with 72.77% of the vote in the district to Shawgo's 27.23%; the Christian County precincts backed Wasson with 71.77% and gave 28.23% to Shawgo. *District 142 – Rep. Raymond Weter (R-Nixa). In 2008, Weter ran unopposed and was reelected with 99.78% of the total vote in the district, with the remainder of the vote going to Richard Green, a write-in candidate. All of Christian County is a part of Missouri's 20th District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by State Senator Jay Wasson (R-Nixa). The 20th Senatorial District consists of Christian, Douglas, Webster and parts of Greene counties in Southwest Missouri. Federal All of Christian County is included in Missouri's 7th Congressional District and is currently represented by Billy Long (R-Springfield) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Political Culture Like most counties situated in Southwest Missouri, Christian County is a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. George W. Bush carried Christian County in 2000 and 2004 by more than two-to-one margins, and like many other rural and exurban counties throughout Missouri, Christian County strongly favored John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008. No Democratic presidential nominee has won Christian County in over 50 years. Like most areas throughout the Bible Belt in Southwest Missouri, voters in Christian County traditionally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles which tend to strongly influence their Republican leanings. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly passed Christian County with 80.46 percent of the vote. The initiative passed the state with 71 percent of support from voters as Missouri became the first state to ban same-sex marriage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to fund and legalize embryonic stem cell research in the state—it failed in Christian County with 58.98 percent voting against the measure. The initiative narrowly passed the state with 51 percent of support from voters as Missouri became one of the first states in the nation to approve embryonic stem cell research. Despite Christian County’s longstanding tradition of supporting socially conservative platforms, voters in the county have a penchant for advancing populist causes like increasing the minimum wage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a proposition (Proposition B) to increase the minimum wage in the state to $6.50 an hour—it passed Christian County with 73.01 percent of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 78.99 percent voting in favor as the minimum wage was increased to $6.50 an hour in the state. During the same election, voters in five other states also strongly approved increases in the minimum wage. Missouri Presidential Preference Primary (2008) Voters in Christian County from both political parties supported candidates who finished in second place in the state at large and nationally. *Former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas) received more votes, a total of 5,852, than any candidate from either party in Christian County during the 2008 Missouri Presidential Preference Primary. Education Public schools *Billings R-IV School District - Billings **Billings Elementary School (PK-06) **Billings High School (07-12) *Chadwick R-I School District - Chadwick **Chadwick Elementary School (PK-06) **Chadwick High School (07-12) *Clever R-V School District - Clever **Clever Elementary School (PK-03) **Clever Upper Elementary School (04-05) **Clever Middle School (06-08) **Clever High School (09-12) *Nixa R-II School District - Nixa **High Pointe Elementary School (K-04) **Main Street Elementary School (PK-06) **Mathews Elementary School (K-04) **Nicholas A. Inman Elementary School (05-06) **Century Elementary School (K-04) **Espy Elementary School (K-04) **John Thomas Elementary School (K-04) **Nixa Jr. High School (07-08) **Nixa High School (09-12) *Ozark R-VI School District - Ozark **North Elementary School (K-04) **East Elementary School (K-04) **West Elementary School (K-04) **South Elementary School (K-04) **Upper Elementary School (05-06) **Ozark Jr. High School (07-08) **Ozark High School (09-12) *Sparta R-III School District - Sparta **Sparta Elementary School (PK-05) **Sparta Middle School (06-08) **Sparta High School (09-12) *Spokane R-VII School District - Spokane **Highlandville Elementary School (PK-05) - Highlandville **Spokane Middle School (06-08) **Spokane High School (09-12) Private schools *Faith Christian School - Spokane - (PK-12) - Baptist Colleges & Universities *Columbia College - Ozark Campus - Private - Nonsectarian In Film The 2010 film Winter's Bone was filmed entirely in Taney County and Christian County. Many locals were cast in significant roles in the film. See also *National Register of Historic Places listings in Christian County, Missouri References External links * Official Website * Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Christian County from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books Category:Christian County, Missouri Category:Counties of Missouri Category:Springfield, Missouri metropolitan area Category:Established in 1859